JANUARY SALES - VOLKSWAGEN - WORLDWIDE - VW's sales drop in January.

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 507,100 (January 2014: 521,600) vehicles to customers worldwide in the first month of this year, 2.8 per cent down on the same month of the prior year. “Deliveries by the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand show we are facing a challenging year. 

Volkswagen was not immune to the uncertainties in some regions that have continued into the current year,” Christian  Klingler, Board Member for Sales and Marketing for the Volkswagen Group and the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, commented in Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

Developments in the global delivery situation in the first month of the year were mixed. 

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand handed over 124,900 (126,100; -1.0 per cent) vehicles to customers on the overall European market in January. Compared with the same month ofthe prior year, 66,100 (66,200; -0.1 per cent) units were delivered inWestern Europe (excluding Germany). The company handed over 42,900 (41,400; +3.4 per cent) vehicles in Germany. 

15,900 (18,500; -14.2 per cent) customers took possession of a new Volkswagen in Central and Eastern Europe in January, of which 6,200 (8,600; -28.3 per cent) units were delivered in Russia.

The brand delivered 282,000 (285,300; -1.2 per cent) vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region in January, of which 265,900 (267,800; -0.7 per cent) were handed over to customers in China (incl. Hong Kong). In contrast, deliveries in the North America region grew to 41,800 (39,700; +5.3 per cent). Volkswagen handed over 23,500 vehicles to customers in the United States, matching the figure for Januaryof last year. 

Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 45,200 (55,200; -18.1 per cent) units in the South America region, of which 34,200 (40,300; -15.2 per cent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.

JANUARY USA SALES - VOLKSWAGEN - Minor growth for the German brand, even with new metal.

• January sales total 23,504 units, representing a .04 percent increase over January 2014
• The all-new Golf delivered 2,040 units for the month, marking a 143% percent increase in sales for the model over the previous January
• The Golf GTI delivered 1,978 units, a 129% percent increase
• Jetta sedan delivered 8,320 units for the month

Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VWoA) today reported sales of 23,504 units delivered in January 2015.

The all-new Golf family continued to find success in both deliveries and accolades. In January, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Golf and Golf GTI were named the North American Car of the Year. Golf family sales in January totaled 4,199 units, which includes 2,040 Golfs, 1,978 Golf GTIs and 181 e-Golf units. The Golf family continues to expand in 2015 with the addition of the much anticipated Golf R which goes on sale later this month. Five hundred pre-orders of the Golf R were filled in less than a 12 hour period last month.

“We are encouraged by the continued success of the Golf family, in fact it was one of the best months on record for Golf family sales. We look forward to the new additions of the much anticipated Golf R and Golf SportWagen later this quarter,” said Mark McNabb, chief operating officer, Volkswagen of America.

The Jetta, refreshed for the 2015 model year now with a suite of driver assistance features, continued to show its strength as a core model, with 8,320 units delivered.

The Touareg, refreshed for 2015, delivered 482 units, 257 of which were Clean Diesel TDI, amounting to 53 percent of sales of the model.

The Chattanooga-built Passat totaled 6,305 units delivered for the month. The Tiguan delivered 1,473 units.

January 2015 Sales

	Jan.15	Jan. 14	Yr/Yr% change	Jan.15  YTD	Jan.14 YTD	Yr/Yr% change
Golf	2,040	839	143.1%	2,040	839	143.1%
GTI	1,978	865	128.7%	1,978	865	128.7%
Golf R	-	8	-100.0%	-	8	-100.0%
e-Golf	181	-	-	181	-	-
Total Golf/GTI/e-Golf	4,199	1,712	145.3%	4,199	1,712	145.3%
Jetta Sedan	8,320	8,455	-1.6%	8,320	8,455	-1.6%
Jetta SportWagen	649	1,313	-50.6%	649	1,313	-50.6%
Total Jetta	8,969	9,768	-8.2%	8,969	9,768	-8.2%
Beetle Coupe	897	1,284	-30.1%	897	1,284	-30.1%
Beetle Convertible	492	750	-34.4%	492	750	-34.4%
Total Beetle	1,389	2,034	-14.8%	1,389	2,034	-14.8%
Eos	156	183	-14.8%	156	183	-14.8%
Passat	6,305	6,236	1.1%	6,305	6,236	1.1%
CC	531	881	-39.7%	531	881	-39.7%
Tiguan	1,473	1,777	-17.1%	1,473	1,777	-17.1%
Touareg	482	544	-11.4%	482	544	-11.4%
Routan	-	359	-100.0%	-	359	-100.0%
TOTAL	23,504	23,494	0.04%	23,504	23,494	0.04%

Top 30 sales in 2014 for Germany, and like France, the home brands dominate.

2014 (Full Year) Germany: Best-Selling Car Models

In 2014, Germany’s top-selling car model was again the Volkswagen Golf followed by the VW Passat. The Polo took third place from the BMW 3 Series. Four of the top-ten most popular cars in Germany in 2014 were Volkswagens with a further two from the larger Volkswagen Group. The Skoda Octavia entered the top-ten list of the favorite cars of the Germans at the expense of the Opel Astra.

Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2014 (Full Year)

The top 30 most popular car models in Germany in 2014 according to new passenger vehicle registration statistics released by the KBA were:

2013 Rank	2014 Rank	Brand and Model	Sales 2014	% Change 14 / 13	Sales 2013
1	1	VW GOLF	255,044	x	244,249
2	2	VW PASSAT	72,153	0.1	72,048
4	3	VW POLO	68,103	-0.4	68,343
5	4	AUDI A3, S3, RS3	65,199	6.9	60,978
6	5	VW TIGUAN	61,947	7.1	57,838
8	6	MERCEDES C-CLASS	60,350	15.1	52,433
3	7	BMW 3 SERIES	55,681	-19.9	69,486
10	8	OPEL CORSA	55,151	11.2	49,595
11	9	SKODA OCTAVIA	52,620	6.3	49,495
7	10	BMW 1 SERIES	50,250	-5.6	53,214
15	11	FORD FOCUS	49,494	8.8	45,485
13	12	AUDI A4, S4, RS4	48,278	-0.1	48,310
14	13	VW TOURAN	47,801	3.5	46,184
9	14	OPEL ASTRA	46,193	-8.2	50,322
17	15	FORD FIESTA	45,228	0.2	45,151
19	16	VW UP	40,902	-4.6	42,867
25	17	SEAT LEON	40,251	x	31,037
21	18	AUDI A6, S6, RS6,	39,596	x	40,813
18	19	BMW 5 SERIES	38,733	-12.9	44,468
22	20	SKODA FABIA	38,470	-2.7	39,549
20	21	MERCEDES E-CLASS	37,117	-9.8	41,159
12	22	MERCEDES A-CLASS	36,657	-25.2	49,034
16	23	MERCEDES B-CLASS	36,639	-19.4	45,455
23	24	MINI	33,183	-3.2	34,263
24	25	VW TRANSPORTER	30,796	x	32,684
26	26	VW CADDY	30,154	-2.0	30,777
29	27	FIAT 500	29,920	3.1	29,024
44	28	OPEL MOKKA	27,693	41.2	19,610
30	29	AUDI A1, S1	27,147	-0.4	27,267
48	30	FORD KUGA	25,751	38.3	18,616

Note: x indicates where a change in methodology for the 2014 figures makes a direct comparison impossible, e.g. up to 2013 the VW Golf and Jetta were counted together.

Top Ten Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2014

Germany’s favorite car model in 2014 remained the Volkswagen Golf, as it has been every year since 1981. In 1980, the Mercedes E Class (W123) was the last car to have beaten the Golf to the top in Germany over a calendar year. Golf sales increased in Germany in 2014 but as the Golf and Jetta numbers were counted together up to 2013, the exact increase cannot be calculated. However, Jetta sales in Germany in 2014 were only 940 cars and were probably fairly similar in 2013.

In second place, selling less than a third as many cars as the Golf, was the VW Passat. The Passat has been the second best-selling car in Germany since 2011.

Despite lower sales, the Volkswagen Polo gained third place from the BMW 3 Series that slipped to seventh place this year. The Audi A3 and VW Tiguan similarly improved a place each at the expense of the BMW 3 Series.

The Mercedes C Class benefited from a new model early in the year and was the most improved (+15%) of the top ten most-popular car models in Germany in 2014. The Mercedes C Class improved from eighth a year ago.

The BMW 3 Series’ slip from third to seventh (and nearly a fifth fewer sales) is less serious for BMW than the numbers indicate. Cars now labeled 4 Series were included in 2013 statistics – if these were added the BMW would have been in second place with around 40 cars more sold than the Passat. (Similar effects influenced statistics for other models and manufacturers.)

The Opel Corsa improved from tenth to eighth with the aging car selling remarkably well even before the new model was launched towards the end of the year.

The Skoda Octavia entered the list of the top-ten best-selling car models in Germany for the first time in 2014 at ninth place, up from 11th in 2013 and 17th in 2012. The Octavia is considered Germany’s favorite imported car model, although Skoda is owned by Volkswagen.

The BMW 1 Series slipped from seventh place to tenth, also partly due to the creation of the 2 Series.

The Opel Astra slipped out of the top-10 list – down to 14th from 9th. The Astra is due for a complete model change towards the end of 2015.

Top 30 Best-Selling Car Models in Germany in 2014 (Full Year)

A few further salient features from the top-selling car models in Germany in 2014:

• The only two new entrants on the list of Germany’s 30 favorite car models were the Opel Mokka (up to 28th from 44th) and the Ford Kuga (up to 30th from 48th). These two models also saw the highest percentage increases in sales.
• The two car models dropping off the list were the Hyundai i30 (from 27th) with weaker sales and the Seat Ibiza (from 28th to 31 st) largely due to Cordoba sales counted separately in 2014.
• The Ford Focus has been creeping up the list in recent years and narrowly missed out on a top-ten position.
• The Seat Leon improved 8 rank places, despite loosing Toledo sales from the total.
• The Mercedes A and B Class dropped out of the top 20 with much weaker sales.
• The only foreign car amongst the top-30 most popular car models in Germany in 2014 and from a brand not belonging to VW or BMW was the Fiat 500 (27 th).